* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
1) Now that the holidays are over, we are about to observe a special Shabbat known as “Shabbat Bereishit.” After Simchat Torah, we start reading the Torah again from Parashat Bereishit. Everyone is invited to join our annual learning cycle from the beginning.
2) This Shabbat is also called “Shabbat Mevarchim” because we will bless the new month of Cheshvan which will begin next week.
3) The words we learned in kindergarten— “When God began creating heaven and earth…” will be heard in synagogues across the Jewish world on Shabbat morning. It is a reminder to all of us that the world was created with a clear purpose and with firm rules and boundaries. Our world is not ruled by chaos, and light will ultimately triumph over darkness.
4) Our parasha also describes the first sin, the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and the first murder in the history of the world. The Torah is candid about the complex nature of the human being created in the image of God. Adam and Eve’s story is our own; their struggle to choose between good and evil continues to challenge humanity until the present day.
5) And there is something else that was created in this week’s parasha: Shabbat. Even God rests after the six days of creation. He blesses and sanctifies the seventh day and thus brings rest and tranquility to the world. As God rested on the seventh day, we too rest once a week on Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom!
Weekly Shiur in Hebrew:
